Bookingrid's bespoke marketing and pricing system aims to put a stop to the burgeoning issue of restaurant no-shows

The issue of customer’s booking tables and not showing up has plagued the restaurant industry for years, but now bookingrid.com, a new marketing platform for restaurants which uses a demand-led pricing model, believes it has finally found a solution.

In recent months, restaurant no-shows have become a burgeoning issue as operators are tightening margins and beginning to realise just how much financial damage fickle diners are causing.

First, there was our podcast, which detailed the rise of restaurant no-shows
and exploring the different ways restaurateurs are currently working around the issue.

Then came our report which showed a number of high-end restaurateurs and industry experts condemning the use of online reservation systems,
claiming booking websites are contributing to a growing number of people booking tables and not showing up.

And so to Bookingrid. The new marketing system aims to help restaurants balance supply and demand between busy and quitter periods, using an airline-style pricing model which it claims will increase restaurant revenues and combat no-shows once and for all.

“Initially there was no intention to help restaurants,” said Sergey Dugaev, founder of bookingrid.com. “I did it for my friends and myself; when my friends and family travelled with me, we often didn’t plan where to dine in advance.

“It was virtually impossible to go to many restaurants because such places were always fully booked. So I was thinking if there could be a solution and bookingrid.com is my answer.”

How it works...

For restaurants using Bookingrid, diners will pre-pay when they make a reservation and the system will debit money from the debit or credit card. If a customer cannot make the reservation then the restaurant will still receive money. In order to protect the customer from the fact that they may not genuinely be able to make the booking, the system allows the individual to re-sell their booking on the platform.

If and when restaurants are oversubscribed, Bookingrid ensures that the guests are those with money to spend; and during potentially quiet periods, the system ensures a through-flow of new and regular business, to keep the kitchen busy and the bills flowing.

Anna Ostroumova, Bookingrid’s head of marketing for the UK, said: “We are so used to the airline demand-led pricing structure, whereby your tickets are so much cheaper in advance and much more expensive closer to the date of travel.

“No one ever questions the fairness of this system and it feel as though this system has been around forever, where in actual fact it is only about 25 years old. Before that, all ticket prices were flat and now prices are fluctuate based on seating availability and timeliness, and so we developed bookingrid.com.

“I‘m often prepared to pay a little bit extra if it means that I get to go a restaurant that I really like, or would really like to try and I don’t have to book months in advance. There are plenty of people out there whom are willing to spend good money to enjoy great food, drink and service, so why not allow them to do that whilst helping restaurants do better themselves?”

Restaurants using Bookingrid

Italian restaurant Maurizio’s is already marketing itself using the website and Bookingrid claims to have had many meetings with other restaurants including Quilon, Pied à Terre, Rasoi and Cinnamon Club & Kitchen - all of whom have expressed a keen interest in using the system.

David Moore, founder of Michelin-starred restaurants Pied à Terre and L’Autre Pied, said: “I find the bookingrid.com concept very interesting and exciting, and look forward to embrasing it. I think it will work very well for my two restaurants, helping us to improve revenue cash flow and margins through its clever booking mechanism."

Peter Harden of the Hardens restaurant guide added: “Variable pricing seems certain to alter the restaurant marketplace, and will bring great benefits to restaurateurs in allowing them to manage demand in their restaurants. bookingrid.com has brought a huge amount of innovation in its approach and we are delighted to be trialling their system on our site.”

To summarise, bookingrid.com works through a combination of:

A demand-led pricing morel which eliminates no-shows, increases the number of high-spenders and boosts receipts during traditionally quitter periods

Extensive, active marketing campaigns and guide listings

Bespoke, web-based software

No more no-shows?

So, could this be an end to restaurant no-shows? Well, as Will Holland, chef-patron of La Becasse in Ludlow, concluded in our podcast
earlier in the year: “When I book a flight, I know that I have to pay full in advance and if I miss my flight then I lose my money.

“If that principle becomes the norm for the public; if they don’t turn up to a table reservation, then they’ve lost their money, then I don’t think there would be any problem.”

With the restaurant and airline industries already sharing similarities in the time and day-specific levels of demand they have and the limited number of revenue-earning seats they offer, Bookingrid could finally be the innovation that restaurants have been waiting for to stop operating on a first-come, first-serve basis and begin taking full control of their revenues.

The issue of customer’s booking tables and not showing up has plagued the restaurant industry for years, but now bookingrid.com, a new marketing platform for restaurants which uses a demand-led pricing model, believes it has finally found a solution.

6 comments(Comments are now closed)

Good idea but too complicated for the customer

Why an earth would a customer want to go through the process of calculating how much they can spend when they can easily go and book at a competing restaurant without having to go through this tiresome process.

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Posted by Michael19 September 2012 | 18h032012-09-19T18:03:14Z

Its not an airline or a theatre booking.

This idea is just paying in advance for very hard to book places which is not how most of the industry sees itself. I have a solution that solves the problem of a no show due to illness, injury, transport problems in short any no fault reason. It also addresses the serial no shoer and targets his behavior all in an international setting Any interested parties please make contact I am in Australia. gbiron@bigpond.net.au

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Posted by George Biron29 July 2012 | 08h262012-07-29T08:26:39Z

Discounts - yes, possible

You are right. And it is completely up to the restaurant which strategy to employ to attract customers.
Your second conclusion about making money is also true. The only thing which cannot be guaranteed - whether it's going to be for loss or profit.

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Posted by Igor20 July 2012 | 11h392012-07-20T11:39:29Z

Are discounts possible?

So if the system is based on the principles of the airline industry does it mean that if I book my diner in advance I could get a discount (same like with flight tickets?)

And if people are able to buy reservations from other people it must mean that I as the holder of the reservation can make money on selling it. So people who do not want to wait get the reservation and the other people the money and the restaurant richt customers. It seems that finally everyone is happy.

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Posted by Fred20 July 2012 | 00h492012-07-20T00:49:41Z

Pre-pay for whatever you wish!

You don't prepay per item on the menu i.e. you don't decide in advance what you wish to eat. You simply pay in advance for what your total bill will be (food and drink). Thus, when you arrive at the restaurant it is completely up to you what you order and can be wholly dependent upon on what you fancy eating at that moment in time. You have essentially bought yourself credit at the restaurant and so you can order up to that credit limit, and if you wish to spend more than originally anticipated you can do so - you simply pay the extra at the end of the meal.

It is a very straightforward principle and has no bearing on what the restaurant will be serving on that day - you order what you so wish.

The system is great as you know exactly how much your bill will be before you arrive, and you are essentially paying for what you believe your meal is worth, much the same as the airlines. If you feel it is worth paying a little bit extra to fly a particular airline for exactly the same route then you will do so.

I think this is a fantastic system that will benefit both customers and restaurants.

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Posted by Maziar18 July 2012 | 22h122012-07-18T22:12:32Z

Pre-pay for what exactly?.....

I like the idea of paying less for booking early, but how does it work in terms of choosing and paying for what you want off the menu. The reason advanced payment works for airlines is that the end product (ie. a seat on a plane) doesn't change and the variable pricing manages the demand. Where as when going to a restaurant you have multiple items all costing different amounts, and how do I know what I want to eat on that day.

Eg. I want the Kobe beef steak for £50 and pay for this in advance for a lesser price, but on the day I actually feel like eating the fish dish for £20. If I have already paid do I get refunded or if it's the other way round do I have to pay more, or do I not get an option? I read the article several times but I didn't see this explained clearly.

Will I be paying the full amount or a token deposit amount? If you do have to choose from the menu and pay in advance then I don't think it is a system I would like to use as I like to choose from the menu based on how I feel at the time.